Give a Lump of Coal for Christmas

Traditionally lumps of coal or was the gift given to children who have been naughty. In the past several years this holiday tradition has taken on a bit of a twist, with people giving lumps of coal to each other for fun or as a way of indicating displeasure.

Children (and pets) may be given lumps of coal from their parents or their teachers to indicate that they've been misbehaving. Coal lumps may be given to bosses, colleagues and politicians anonymously to indicate frustration, disapproval or anger over the job they are doing.

Finally lumps of coal, particularly candy lumps of coal are given between couples who are dating or married to indicate someone has been "naughty" in a different sense of the word.

In this lens you'll find a collection of humorous coal gifts to give and easy ones to make. It is a gift and do-it-yourself craft lens all rolled into one. Some of the craft ideas may be fun and easy ones to do with children in the classrooms, so they can give their own lumps of coal to friends and family members.

Stocking from LeoSynapse and coal candy available on Amazon.

The Lump of Coal Gift by John Joh.

Traditionally lumps of coal were put into the stockings of those children who misbehaved during the year to indicate that the child or person deserves nothing more than a coal.

Ironically according to others, when many families were poor, finding a lump of coal in the ashes of your fireplace was actually good luck, since it meant it would be a warm Christmas.

Wikipedia has this to say about the tradition of giving a lump of coal, "a child who behaves badly during the year will receive only a piece of coal.

However, coal is rarely left in a stocking, as it is considered cruel."

In some family traditions the lump of coal may be place in the bottom of the stockings underneath the toys and candy as a reminder to children that Santa realized they are sometimes misbehaving.

Lump of Coal by dyet with ribbon from Microsoft clipart.

What do you think about giving a lump of coal?

Making your own lump of coal bag is pretty simple. You need:

• * Muslin or fabric bag
• * Black licorice in chunks

• "Don't bother looking twice,
• You got this coal because you've been naughty instead of nice."

We've got licorice and muslin bags in the house so could easily make up several lump of coal bags to give as humorous gifts for this Christmas.

Muslin Bags in varying sizes. Add your favorite coal candy, gum or fake coal and you have your own Lump of Coal gift bag.

I think Grumpy, the Lump of Coal Pattern from KnitPicks is one of the funniest looking amigurumi critters that I've seen. The pattern knits up quickly and uses a small amount of yarn, so many knitted lumps of coal can be made from a single skein of yarn.

The link to the free pattern for the Grumpy, the Lump of Coal can be found below.

Another option is to crochet a Lump of Coal. On Etsy you can find a pre-made crochet Frowny Lump of Coal and order your own or crochet a lump of coal out of black yarn.

Grumpy Lump of Coal by Rhonlynn

A free knit pattern from KnitPicks, so you can knit your own lump of coal.

Leave it to Martha Steward to come up with a creative way of gifting using a box shaped like a lump of coal.

On her website you will find how to take gift boxes and embellish them with paint, paper and black glitter to turn them into fabulous lumps of coal for gift giving.

Martha writes that "the faux-coal pieces are just the right size to package earrings, a rolled-up tie, and other small gifts."

You can find pictures of the boxes along with the directions for making the her Lump of Coal Gift box by following the link below to the Martha Stewart website.

Start with one of these hexagon boxes or a square box to make the Martha Steward inspired Lump of Coal gift box.

If you need a larger gift box, start with a larger paper mache box and adjust the directions accordingly.

With Coal Candy receivers won't mind receiving this bag of coal in their stockings.

Making your own candy coal filled bucket is simple. You need:

• * Galvanized pail
• * Black licorice in chunks or chocolate coal candy
• * Gift Basket Plastic Wrap
• * Red Ribbon

Wrap up the bag in plastic wrap or cellophane wrap.

Add a red bow.

Add a gift tag to indicate why the person is getting git of coal.

You've created your own gift coal bucket.

Making your own lump of coal soap bag is very similar to making the lump of coal candy bag. You can make it as fancy or as basic as desired simply by varying the type of bag that is used. (For muslin bags see the earlier module).

To make the coal soap bag you need:

• * Muslin, fabric organza bag
• * Black soap

Using Japanese charcoal soap helps to draw impurities away, stimulate circulation and retain natural moisture. The soap may be something that can be used, while still getting the message across about the lump of coal.

For the more ambitious use the coal molds to make your own coal soap or candy mold.

FreeXmasCrafts shares how to make your own lump of coal soap to give as a fun Christmas gift for the naughty people on your list.

Learn how to make your own lump of coal soap for inexpensive Christmas gifts.

Much More than You Deserve for Christmas This Year by Peyri

Making your own lump of coal ornament is simple. You need:

• * A lump of coal, or coal rock
• * A screw eye ring
• * Craft glue
• * Red ribbon

To make the ornament, start by carefully screwing in the eye ring. You may want to glue the eye ring into the coal rock, so it does not fall out.

Once dry, add a red ribbon and hang.

If you don't want to turn your coal rock into an ornament, simply tie a ribbon around it or stick a ribbon on it and you have a lump of coal paper weight.

This lens was part of Squidoo's Holiday Gift Guide with real recommendations for holiday gifts.

The guide allowed shippers to find a unique gift recommendation for the happiest people on your shopping list and make an instant (free) donation to charity at the same time.

The Holiday Elf guided the way to people's shopping experiences. and you'll know your shopping is making a difference.

The gift guide has been retired.

Have you ever given or received a lump of coal for Christmas?